Wedding blues

BRITAIN: The upcoming royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton promises to be an exciting event for most people in Britain. But many UK businesses are not happy about it.

One reason for the unhappiness is the cost of the wedding itself, around £10 million. While the families of the couple say they will finance the celebrations, public services such as street closures, security, and the clean-up afterwards will be paid with taxpayers’ money.

Business leaders are particularly concerned about how much the wedding will cost them in lost productivity. For one thing, the day has been declared a bank holiday, which will cost the economy an estimated £6 billion. And the choice of date, 29 April, is particularly unfavourable for employers.

The wedding takes place three days after Easter Monday. Employers are worried that workers will call in sick to extend their holidays. “It will be a three-day week and it could see many businesses just shut down,” Stephen Alambritis of the Federation of Small Businesses told The Daily Telegraph.

Employers are worried that workers will call in sick to extend their holidays.

On the plus side, the wedding may bring an extra £400 million to the economy as supporters buy memorabilia, or celebrate in pubs and restaurants. Travel and tourism from abroad could bring in another £500 million, with visitors from the so-called BRIC countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — particularly eager to visit places connected to the royal family.